About this initiative

This program is for individuals with disability undertaking an artistic collaboration involving mentoring. The proposal should lead to a major step forward in the applicant’s arts practice, and build foundations for an enduring career. The purpose is to support collaborations that fuel ambition, embolden ideas and innovation, build networks and capacity, and strengthen future works.

We encourage applications from:

· artists and arts workers with disability seeking to collaborate with a mentor

· artists and arts workers with disability seeking to be the mentor in a collaboration, including peer to peer mentoring.

How your application will be assessed

All applicants will be advised of the outcome of their application once the assessment has been completed.

Details of the grant recipients will be published on the Australia Council website. These details will include the name of each recipient, their resident state or territory, the amount awarded, the panel which assessed the application (disability panel) and the name of the round (the Arts and Disability Mentoring Initiative). Please contact us if you do not wish to have your name published.

Assessment criteria

You must address three assessment criteria in this category.

Under each criterion are bullet points indicating what the peer assessors may consider when reviewing your application. You do not need to respond to every bullet point listed.

First criterion:

Potential and calibre of the artist/art workers

Peers will assess the potential of the collaboration between artists / arts workers at the centre of your proposal, and the calibre of those involved.

They may consider the following:

· artistic merit of proposed project

· quality of work previously produced by the applicant and collaborator

· public or peer response to work previously produced

· demonstrated ability, skills and creative thinking

· level of innovation, ambition, experimentation or risk-taking.

Second criterion:

Viability

Peers will assess the viability of your proposal.

They may consider the following:

· skills and artistic ability of the people involved, and their relevance to the proposed activity

· effective use of resources, with realistic and achievable planning

· level of confirmation of proposed activities and partners

· adherence to relevant cultural protocols

· appropriate payments to participating artists

· relevance and timeliness of proposed activity

· evidence of considered consultation and engagement with participants, audiences and communities.

Third criterion:

Impact on arts practice and career

Peers will assess the impact that the proposed activity will have on your arts practice and career.

They may consider the following:

· capacity to strengthen skills and abilities of artists/arts professionals

· potential to extend arts practice, including working at greater scale or significance

· potential to discover and develop new markets, or meet existing market demand

· relevance and timeliness of activity

· significance of the collaboration, including contribution to arts and disability practice.

Application form

You will be able to apply for this grant from late February 2019.
Instructions and a link to the online application form will be available here from that date.
The application form will ask you to provide:

· a title for your project

· a summary of your project

· a brief bio of the artist applying

· an outline of your project and what you want to do

· a timetable or itinerary for your project

· an outline of how this project will impact your career

· a projected budget which details the expenses, income and in-kind support of the project, including any access and support costs

· supporting material relevant to your project, including an artistic example, bios of additional artists, and letters of support from participants or communities.

Support material

You may submit support material with your application. Industry advisers and Australia Council staff may review this support material to help them gain a better sense of your project. If you need advice on what type of support material to submit, please contact the grants team.

We do not accept application-related support material submitted via post. Application-related material received by post will not be assessed and will be returned to the sender. If you think you will have difficulty submitting your support material online, please contact the grants team.

There are three types of support material you may submit:

1. Artistic support material

This should include relevant, recent examples of your artistic work.

2. Artist information

You can include a brief bio or curriculum vitae (CV) for yourself and any additional artists, mentors, mentees or key collaborators involved in the project.

Bio and CV information for all artists and key collaborators, including yourself, should be presented as a single document no longer than two A4 pages in total.

3. Letters of support

Individuals, groups or organisations can write letters in support of your project. A support letter should explain to the assessment panel how the project or activity will benefit the applicant or the broader community (and if applicable, how the project or activity will benefit community participants).

You can include up to five letters of support, with each letter not exceeding one A4 page.